A California lawmaker is taking on retail stores that employ self-checkout registers. State Senator Lola Smallwood Cuevas has authored a bill that would only allow self-checkout under certain circumstances.
The Los Angeles Democrat says if her bill passes, self-checkout would only be allowed if registers are limited to ten items or less, at least one manual checkout station is staffed, alcohol, tobacco, and other age-related items cannot be purchased, one employee can’t monitor two self-checkout lanes at the same time, and an employee who monitors a self-checkout lane should be relieved of all other duties.
A California Chamber of Commerce opposes the bill, while labor unions are in favor.
Senator Cuevas says her bill would reduce retail theft and create a more equitable work environment.